Basimenye Mwalwanda

Malawi

Basimenye is currently working as a programme officer, responsible for co-ordinating the outreach and social mobilisation section of Pakachere Institute for Health and Development Communication in Malawi. She graduated from Chancellor College at the University of Malawi with a degree in drama and psychology in 2004, and, in 2009, she completed her MA in Dramatic Art with distinction as part of the Drama for Life programme. Her research centred on the use of dramatic processes in achieving emotional healing for people living with HIV and AIDS.

Before joining Pakachere, Basimenye worked as the community mobilisation and outreach manager for Story Workshop, a Malawian non-profit, where she managed a UNICEF-funded Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) project. She also worked as a programme manager for Nanzikambe Theatre Arts, where she headed a number of development communication projects, including Nanzikambe’s groundbreaking children’s interactive radio series called Tisankhenji.

Basimenye is a certified trainer in Theatre for Development (TFD) and has facilitated a number of high-profile, performance-led conferences around issues of HIV, gender, leadership, democracy and human trafficking in Malawi. Besides her managerial responsibilities, Basimenye is also experienced in project development, implementation and social mobilisation, and has expertise in acting and scriptwriting. She is passionate about people and is committed to finding means through which theatre can be used to effectively bring about positive change.